When the jury has been sworn, the trial must proceed in the following order, unless the court, for special reasons, directs otherwise:
- The plaintiff (petitioner), after stating the issue(s) may produce evidence.
- The defendant (respondent) may then open the defense and offer evidence in support thereof. The parties may then respectively offer rebutting evidence only, unless the court, for good reason in furtherance of justice, permits them to offer evidence upon their original case.
- When the evidence is concluded, unless the case is submitted to the jury on either side or on both sides without argument, the plaintiff must commence and may conclude the argument.
- In trials where several defendants have separate defenses, and are represented by different counsel, the court must determine their relative order in the evidence and argument.